Spinning toy



March 1, 1938. WORST 2,109,788

SPINNING TOY Filed May 25, 1936 7//IIIIIIIIIII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/I Half l I lllllllllllllllllllrllllllll FIG-.3

v 1 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 1, 1938 PATENT OFFICE SPINNING TOY Ellsworth A. Worst, Bellevue, K32, assignor of one-half to William H. Schaufele, Bellevue,

Application May 25, 1936, Serial No. 81,719

1 .Claim.

This invention has for an object to produce a toy which will enable children or unskilled grown folks seemingly to perform the feats of professional jugglers whose cleverness is witnessed so often in theaters, circuses, and the like, as to the spinning of plates and similar articles on the ends of sticks.

A further object is to produce a toy of the type described, which is inexpensive, simple, may be made relatively unbreakable, and which may be used even as a premium for gift purposes associated with the sale of merchandise, as well as employed for its utilitarian value as an article of food dispensing.

These and other objects are obtained in the spinning toy described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of an exemplary form of the toy embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a modification of a spinning element of the toy embodying my invention,

Figs. 3 and 4 are also modifications of the spinning element which is a detail of my invention.

The form of toy I have shown consists of two elements or members, one of which is a rotatable or spinnable plate or similar gyratory member I l and the other of which is a propelling element in the form of a stick l2. Naturally and perhaps preferably, the gyratory element may be shaped as a plate which is used to hold food. This is the conventional shape which one sees in professional displays of the jugglers art, and has been chosen merely because of this association as an illustration of the application of my idea. Sticks which have been used in the act of spinning plates and similar objects, heretofore have been rigid or stiff. Obviously, such sticks are used to support the spinning element primarily, the initial impulse by means of which the object is caused to gyrate, having been imparted to it by a dextrous twirl which subsides after a period of rotation, although occasionally, especially skilled performers may be able to maintain the twirling motion by means of such a rigid stick. Also, plates as used by theprofessional, are usually quite plain and of conventional shape.

Now, there are two details of my invention which I believe to be novel, and upon which features the marked success of my invention as a toy for use by those who are not skilled in the juggling art, rests. I refer first to the character of the stick I 2. As I have shown in the drawing, both by the curving of the stick and the lines adjacent thereto to indicate vibratory action thereof, the stick I employ is quite a flexible member and serves as a spring-like propeller by holding it at its lower end, as shown, whilst giving it a very slight flexing and rotary motion while its upper end supports a plate. The second feature lies in the character of the plate. For example, the rim of the plate may have upstanding projections l3 at spaced intervals, which projections form recesses on the under side of the plate and in which the upper end of the flexible stick may engage for the purpose of preventing its disengagement from the plate during the spinning operation. Obviously, the upper end of the stick may be shaped to fit the underside recesses of the plate to assist in the spinning and positioning function.

In Figs. 2, 3 and 4, I have shown possible modifications of the plate and the cooperating stick. In Fig; 2 the plate shows holes M at intervals around its rim, while the stick has a pin I5 projecting therefrom for engagement with the holes. In Fig. 3 the plate is shown as having a series of downward projections l6 which when engaged by the coned recess l! of the end of the stick, will prevent disengagement of the plate when it is being gyrated. In Fig. 4 the plate has been provided with scallops l8 which hold the plate on the stick, the latter having perhaps some such end shape as l9. Incidentally, this end shape 19 as well as the shape shown at [5 may readily adapt themselves to use with the plate shown in Fig. 1.

To use the toy it is but necessary to place its plate on the end of the stick, with the locating details of both stick and plate in registration, and then, by holding the lower end of the stick with one hand and in an upright position, to give the plate a slight twirl with a simultaneous urge being imparted thereto by the stick being given a rotary tendency as the full and dotted lines suggest in Fig. 1, whereby a conical or substantially conical path of the stick will be described. Thereby the plate gyration will be continued indefinitely.

Many variations of the idea of my invention may be incorporated, since it is obvious that the gyratory element may partake of any easily gyrated geometric or fantastic shape, as may be desired.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

A spinning toy consisting of a gyratory element and a relatively flexible stick-like member adapted to support the gyratory element at its upper end, to be held by its lower end, and to be given a flexing motion, whereby initiated gyratory motion of the element will be maintained by said flexing motion of the member.

ELLSWORTH A. WORST. 

